Houses, Police Station, Churches Destroyed As Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc In Ikirun, Ilare

 

Yusuf Oketola

RAINSTORM has rendered many people homeless in Ikirun, Ifelodun local government and Ilare-Ijesa, Obokun East local government of the State of Osun. 

The rainstorm which accompanied the first rain of the year on January 23, 2023 destroyed houses and other properties at Odoofun, Labaika and Emiloju areas of Ikirun.

Some of the residents who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER described the rain which lasted for few minutes as disastrous, as it left victims of the affected areas counting their losses.

Speaking with the medium on Wednesday, a resident of Labaika, Dr. Ayokunle Adekunle, said the victims have since been in sad mood as destruction of their property dealt a huge blow on them.

He said: “The rainstorm dealt a huge blow on the people; it is a very sad one. The victims have been left in a sad mood; such destruction at this time of economic hardship and hyperinflation will definite hit the victims to the bone marrow”. 

Meanwhile, the victims called on the state government and well-to-do individuals, to come to their aid, saying the destruction caused by the rainstorm was more than what they can bear.

Also, a 25-minute downpour wreak havoc in Ilare-Ijesa community around 6:00 pm on Friday, January 27, 2023. 

No fewer than 15 houses were said to have been were blown off by the storm, including Police Station, Churches, Shops and residential buildings.

OSUN DEFENDER visited the town last weekend and some spoke with some of the victims whose properties were destroyed by the rainstorm. 

An ultra-modern Civic Center, a Community Development Self-help Project built by indigenes of the Community, located along Esa-Odo road, Ilare, was part of the building destroyed by the rainstorm.

The project, according to the spokesperson of the community, Odole Tope Abiola, was a self-help project which the community started about eight years ago, under the banner of Ilare Development Association (IDA).

Lamenting the destruction, the President of Ilare Development Association, Samuel Omoyulenu Fabunmi, said the collapse of the building was a monumental loss to the town.

Fabunmi who spoke in an emotion laden voice with tears rolling on his cheeks, stated that about N150m had already been sunk into the project, voluntarily contributed by the illustrious sons and daughters of the town.

Addressing inhabitants of the town who converged on the site of the collapsed building for an inter-religious prayer in the early hours of Monday, the Owalare of Ilare, Oba Adejoro Otebolaku, appealed to indigenes of the town not to be devastated about the disaster, but thank God that there was no loss of life.

Otebolaku called on the Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to the aid of the rainstorm victims and entire community.

The traditional ruler said it was unfortunate for the community to experience such a colossal loss, saying “Ilare-Ijesa is a community that had never benefited any social-infrastructure from the government.

“All infrastructure in the community from, Schools, hospital, roads, post office and other facilities in the town were self-help projects by the indigenes”

He stressed further that it was quite unfortunate to see the multi-million-naira edifice put in place by sons and daughters blown off by the wind.